


A Universe from Nothing

by GaryTheFish



Series: Hope is a Four Letter Word [36]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Loki - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7826911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaryTheFish/pseuds/GaryTheFish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Offers, meetings and discussions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Universe from Nothing

_They are still out on the deck when Aeslin returns from the stables, and he hears her through the open window. She does not come out to greet them, staying inside out of respect to Frigga’s wish for privacy; it bothers him more than he’d like. His mother seems to understand. She stands gracefully, and he follows suit, collecting cups, plates and ice cream wrappers with a practiced hand while ignoring the slightly-surprised twitch in Frigga’s lips. He resists the urge to roll his eyes; even a prince can learn to clean up after himself, when the need (or motivation) is there, something he is sure Frigga well knows._

_“I really must be getting back,” she says, watching as Loki puts everything away, leaning past Aeslin to put the dishes in the sink with his hand on one of her hips. There is a sudden quiet. He turns to see his mother studying Aeslin with her brows slightly knit; he is very familiar with the look, and he wonders what it is that caught Frigga’s eye enough to open her Sight, even a little._

_“It hurts you.” Her voice carries a hint of surprise, and Aeslin glances at Loki, who shakes his head. He has said nothing to his mother of her powers and their attendant problems._

_“Yes,” she admits after a moment. Frigga takes a step closer, hands carefully at her sides and pale against the deep red flowers of her sundress._

_“It didn’t always.”_

_“No.”_

_A nod. “May I?”_

_“It depends. What exactly do you want? I’m pretty done with people mucking around with me, if it’s all the same to you.”_

_“I merely wish to see,” Frigga replies. “I will do nothing else. You have my word.”_

_Aeslin regards her critically for a second, and then she deliberately steps forward. “Fine. But make it quick.”_

_The Queen’s eyes glitter, taking on the deep, shimmering gold that Loki has so long associated with his mother’s Sight. Frigga reaches up and touches Aeslin’s jaw; she lifts it gently as she inspects the shorter woman. Loki does not miss how Frigga takes her hand away a little too quickly while her face takes on the look of one trying to remember a snatch of song, or a memory of scent. Her fingers rub absently together, but she smiles, her eyes regaining their original pale blue._

_“Your condition is not unknown among our kind,” she says thoughtfully. “Granted, you are not full Aesir. To be perfectly frank, I’m not quite sure_ what _you are these days; your own creature, certainly, and perhaps unique in all the realms. It shouldn’t matter, though. I would more than likely be able to help you, if that was your wish. To teach you what my son could not. To heal you.”_

_This earns her a look from Loki; Frigga flicks her eyes to him over Aeslin’s shoulder, and Aeslin half turns, as well, a question on her face, but Loki says nothing. His glare bores into his mother._

_“Don’t mind him,” Frigga continues smoothly, turning back to Aeslin. “He’s just_ positive _that this is yet another ploy to bring him home. A blatant attempt to lure him across the bridge and into obscurity.”_

_He cannot see Aeslin’s face, but he does not need to. Her voice says enough. “Is he right?”_

_“No, though I can’t blame him, since I wouldn’t be the first to try.” She smiles. “I made him a promise, after all.”_

_“To not bring him home?”_

_A slight laugh. “Something like that.” She lifts Aeslin’s chin once more, but her eyes retain their normal color. “You don’t have to choose now, little one. Just know that my offer stands. I would help you, if I can.”_

_“I know.” Aeslin’s voice is a little hesitant, and Frigga cants her head curiously._

_“You bear powerful magic, Kindlesdaughter. You have proven yourself a force for good. Why so reluctant?”_

_Aeslin shrugs, tucking her hands into the pockets of her borrowed hoodie, and he idly wonders if Frigga knows it’s his. “A lot of things,” she finally admits, “but I guess the only thing you need to know is that right now, ‘I can’t’ is a lot easier to say than ‘I won’t’.”_

_Understanding flashes across his mother’s face, and her fingers drift from Aeslin’s jaw to gently cup the back of her neck in an all-too-familiar way. “I think I understand.” A kind smile. “Should you change your mind, however, know that I will be glad to help you.”_

_That earns her a smile in return, but only a little one - a river reflecting starlight. “I’m not the sort to stand in the middle of a corn field screaming for Heimdall,” Aeslin replies, “so how would I reach you?”_

_“I’m the All-Mother, and you’re brilliant,” Frigga says with an unguarded laugh, one that Loki has not heard in a very long time. “I think we’ll figure out something. In fact...” She removes her hand from Aeslin’s neck, raising her fingers, and there is a sudden, sharp smell of ozone. She tips a small glass ball from her palm into Aeslin’s; it glows fitfully, a tiny flame of shifting color dancing lazily within. He clenches his jaw to keep it from dropping open._

_“If you change your mind,” Frigga tells her, “break it. Crush it in your hand, or under your foot; it is sturdy.” Her eyes go to Loki, then back to Aeslin’s face. “It will work for no other, and though results may not be instantaneous, know that I will have seen. I will know you wish to speak to me and will act accordingly.”_

_Aeslin nods, closing her hand around the bauble, and Frigga gives her a fond smile._

_“And now I really_ must _be going,” she says again. “Loki’s brother will be expecting me.” She touches Aeslin’s face, and then she turns to Loki. He straightens; she pulls him into a hug, and he holds on to her for a fraction longer than he means to. He lets go first, as he always does, and they follow her out onto the deck. She stays in the sundress, her feet bare on the warm sand; he rests his forearms on the smooth wooden railing and watches her go._

_Hard and carefully as he stares, he still misses the moment when she vanishes. First she is there, then she is not, and though they wait together for a long time, there is no call of distant thunder to herald her return across the bridge. He realizes then that she has found another way, through the paths that have long been hidden from all but a few._

_Perhaps all but one, now. He cannot decide if the knowledge bothers him or not; it is merely one thing he has learned in a day of too many puzzles. He glances at the sphere Aeslin still cradles in her slender hand, though her eyes are on the spot where the Queen vanished._

_“She really does adore you,” he says, startling her a little. She looks up at him._

_“Is that so?”_

_He gestures to the creation in her hand. “Do you know how many of those I’ve seen in my life?” As she shakes her head, he gives her a gentle smirk. “Two. Well, three, and I’ll give you one guess as to who they belonged to.”_

_“You. Your brother. I don’t know the third. Odin probably wouldn’t need one.”_

_“Two of them were Thor’s,” he clarifies. “He had to use the first one.”_

_“When?”_

_A kind shake of his head. “That’s a story he should tell you, but be gentle. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”_

_Her smile is distracted and seems a bit forced, and he tilts his head._

_“What’s troubling you?”_

_She does not answer him directly, instead rolling the ball around her palm. “Do you need a meeting? Because I kind of need a meeting.”_

_Loki looks at the spot where his mother disappeared, thinking of what she told him, or more accurately, what she didn’t. He thinks of the answers he may never have, and if he even wants them anymore. He nods. “I do. Find a safe place for that,” he tells her as he pushes away from the railing. “I’ll get the keys.”_

_***_

“Here at Stark Industries,” Tony said to the group following him, “we take care of our people, but more than that, we let people take care of themselves.” The new employees trailed him, swept up in his wake as he strolled through the state-of-the-art workout facilities. He was really beginning to look forward to the tours Pepper had talked him into doing occasionally. Random, infrequent, (no sense in asking for trouble, after all) but something he liked more every day.

“I’m not saying you can’t go home at night,” he went on, “but we make sure you don’t always have to. Genius doesn’t always strike during working hours.” A few chuckles from the braver souls, and Tony gave a winning smile as he strolled backward in front of his little herd. “A little something for everyone; we’ve got everything. Treadmills that simulate any sort of landscape you’d like, complete with visuals. They're loaded with most major cities and national parks. Lap pools, weight rooms, cardio studios, and I think we even added one of those movie-bikey places the other week. I’d have to check. Lots of classes, too, in these rooms. Tai Chi. Pilates. Yoga.”

One of the new hires in the back glanced over into one of the rooms, stopping so fast that those behind had to veer off to avoid crashing into him.

“Uh.” He managed, staring through the large window that opened onto one of the workout room. “That’s not yoga.”

Tony pivoted smartly, peering into the window as well. “No,” he replied. “That is not.” They watched in silence for a moment, and even through the glass Tony could hear the muffled thuds of the battle going on in the large room. He hadn’t seen them spar before, not if you didn’t count tackle Pictionary or their near-complete inability to play Catan without drawing blood; it was beautiful, vicious and strangely hypnotic. She got in a good hit; he stumbled backward, hand to his jaw, and Tony winced in sympathy.

“It looks like they’re trying to kill each other,” came a voice from somewhere off to his left, and Tony smiled cheerfully.

“Actually,” he replied, “it would appear they’re trying _not_ to. Right this way, ladies and gentlemen.”

_***_

_It has been too long since they have fought like this. Only once or twice since coming to Malibu; they have spent their time in other pursuits, but there are days when either or both of them has needed the clarity that combat gives._

_Things are different between them now. There is gentleness. There is softness. There is comfort, and warmth, and soothing touches._

_Everywhere, that is, but here._

_She slams him to the ground, dancing immediately out of his reach. He lashes his foot outward and nearly catches her; a rapid movement sends him to his feet and across the distance between them. He tackles her, sending them both back to the barely-cushioned floor. He grins down at her. “Missed this,” he says._

_She shoves upward, and they separate for a moment. Her movements like lightning, she comes for him again, and he watches as she drops her shoulder, the same habit that always trips her up when she’s not paying attention. He snatches her from the air, allowing himself to fall beneath her and pinning her to his chest. Her back is warm against him; he feels the sweat dampening her tank top as well as his own. His mouth is close to her ear._

_“What’s troubling you,_ elskan _?” he asks again._

_“What makes you think anything’s bothering me?” Her voice is deliberately light, and her breath is ragged._

_“Your left shoulder. You also missed an opening I gave you to see if you were paying attention.” She tries to squirm from his grip, and he tightens one leg around her. “Which you weren’t. So talk.”_

_“People can walk right by and see this, you know, or did you not notice the tour group earlier?”_

_“I noticed,” he replies, “and the sooner you tell me what’s wrong, the smaller chance there is that Stark will swing by with another before we're through.” He teases his lips along her ear. “Better hurry.”_

_She relaxes against him only slightly, and he is glad of it. Her weight, as always, is comforting to him, holding him firmly to this realm. She sighs and turns her head, lips almost touching his._

_“You didn’t tell me you could have gone back. That you’d been_ asked _to return.”_

_“Because I never even considered it, therefore, it was a moot point. No reason to tell you.”_

_She is angry; it surprises him. “Why_ not? _” she asks._ “ _You could have gone_ home _.”_

 _He cannot help his laugh. “Home? Norns, little one. Where do you think I_ am _?”_

_“You know what I mean.”_

_He releases her; they both come to a sitting position, much as they always do after these sessions._

_“So you want to know why I stayed.” He caresses her cheek, wrapping a tendril of hair around his finger, a smile on his lips. “You mean besides the obvious?”_

_She leans into his touch; her eyes close as she kisses his palm. “Besides that.”_

_“Simple. He offered the impossible.” He pulls her on to his lap, not caring who might be walking past. “Think about it. What was he to do with me, love? He refused to return my magics. He refused to return my power. He planned to bring me back to the palace, as a prince. But what then? It’s not as though anything’s really changed. What exactly could he do? Pretend nothing happened?”_

_“Frigga said that you’re an ambassador. That’s what the story is. He could just bring you home. Say your assignment is complete.”_

_He taps her nose. “Ahh,” he says. “But what after that? He can’t marry me off. Who would have me? A stolen frost giant? No claim to the throne? I suppose he could keep up the lie for a while; he’s done all right so far, but I wouldn’t be much use, even kept in my Aesir form. A lesser noble might be the best I could hope for. Vanaheim, perhaps, or Nidavellir. I’m sure he could find me a_ lovely _dwarven wife. One of Volstagg’s distant relations, no doubt. Not you, though. Of that I’m_ absolutely _certain.”_

_“Why not?”_

_A shrug. “You don’t marry a prince to a goat, love. At least, Odin doesn’t. That’s not to say he wouldn’t allow me to keep you as a mistress, if I asked nicely.”_

_Her eyes narrow. “Really.”_

_“Oh yes,” he replies with a wicked grin, “because I guarantee he would be_ very _interested in what we might create. It’s bad enough that he wants to study you. The creature he believes his magic created. What would become of our children?” At her look, he laces his fingers behind her back. “Think of it, love. Not mortal. Not Asgardian. Worthy of Mjolnir. And I? A frost giant. Perhaps mortal, perhaps not. Kept under a glamour so powerful that even Odin’s finest healers couldn’t see through it, and believe me when I say they had plenty of opportunities.”_

_He laughs at her quizzical look. “I was in wars that lasted for decades, little one. Pitched battles that lasted for weeks or months on end. You can’t honestly believe I walked away from every single one of them.”_

_“Maybe a little.”_

_“Bless you for your unfailing loyalty,” he says, nipping the edge of her lip before kissing her. “But sadly, no. I was carried from more than a few. Being in Odin’s vanguard wasn’t exactly a walk in the park,_ nor _was being Lieutenant to the Valkyrie Queen. The point is, love, you can’t carry magic like that around for a thousand years and not have it change you. And the_ bigger _point is, Odin tossed me aside. He let go. If that wasn’t enough, when he had the chance to make things right, he did it_ again _. Why am I going to go back to that? More than that, why am I going to drag_ you _into that? My life is here now. With you. I’m exactly where I want to be.” He nuzzles her neck, and she hums, her fingers in his hair. “And when we finally manage to decide which house in London we’re going for, then_ that’s _exactly where I’ll want to be.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Promise." He grins and pokes her in the ribs. "Ready for another round?”_

_An answering laugh as she twists away. “Absolutely.”_

_“Good.” He braces her palms on his to help her stand. “Because I think Stark’s about to bring the next group around. Might as well make it worth his while.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Fan Fiction Appreciation Day (I assume it is where you are right now.) Thanks for being my fan! I'm glad you're here! <3
> 
> Not beta read. Feedback appreciated! Sorry it took so long to get to you all. This week has been INSANE.


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